Halo Wars
"This is Spartan Group Omega. If they want war, we'll give 'em war!" : - The leader of Spartan Group Omega in the Halo Wars Announcement Trailer. ''Halo Wars ''is a real-time strategy science fiction video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360. However, due to the Xbox One's lack of backwards compatibility, it cannot be played on its sucessor console. It is the first spinoff Halo ''game, as well as being the only RTS game in the franchise. ''Halo Wars ''was released on March 3, 2009. Its existence was due to Bungie giving permission to Ensemble to develop the game prior to ''Halo 3's release, and was also due to Halo' s massive success as a trilogy. Unlike the games it shares a namesake with however, Halo Wars ''was not as successful as the main trilogy, and only sold a mere 2.34 million copies on release. In the Halo 3 Limited Collector's Edition, a code to the demo for ''Halo Wars ''could be found. Story Plot '' Halo Wars' campaign is obviously not the same as any other Halo ''game. Instead of FPS gameplay, it is an RTS game, meaning the player must build armies to defeat the Covenant, instead of simply choosing a weapon or vehicle, running in and gunning down everything in sight. This sort of new gameplay style is something totally new to ''Halo, and offers a new way to see the universe. In terms of story, Halo Wars ''is a step down from the main trilogy due to its relatively simple storyline, but it is still broad in that covers multiple worlds (all of them having not been seen in a ''Halo ''game before or visited) and locations, keeping the story interesting. ''Halo Wars ''takes place in the year 2531; exactly 21 years before the events of ''Halo: Combat Evolved. Captain Cutter, the commanding officer of the [[UNSC Spirit of Fire|UNSC Spirit of Fire]], starts off the game by lamenting on the grave losses taken by human forces trying to hold the planet Harvest against the Covenant. He talks of their initial victory, and then the devastating Covenant counterattack. He then speaks of how Harvest now belongs to the UNSC again, before the logo of Halo Wars appears on screen. Captain Cutter is seen on the bridge of the Spirit, observing Harvest below, when the ship's AI, Serina, informs him that all systems are nominal and green. He then moves over to the holo table, where he hears a report from Sergeant Forge, a UNSC soldier on Harvest's surface, that the Covenant appear to be digging up something, and it looks important. Cutter orders him to investigate, and Professor Anders firmly declares her intent to scientifically observe whatever they are digging. Forge protests, but Anders ignores him. On Harvest's surface, Alpha Base, a UNSC stronghold on Harvest, is being swarmed and bombarded by Covenant forces, leaving its defenders annihilated and the base overrun. Sergeant Forge however manages to rally surviving troops and launches a counterattack on the Covenant, with support from a squadron of Shortsword-Class Bombers. His troops manage to defeat the Covenant forces, and they successfully retake Alpha Base. Afterwards, Sergeant Forge goes scouting at the Covenant dig site, which has unveiled a large Forerunner structure called the Relic. There, it is revealed that an Arbiter, one by the name of Ripa 'Moramee, is leading the Covenant expeditionary force. A fellow Elite, this one by the name of Field Master Re'gish Wamik, was terrified that opening the Relic could potentially cause the infection to defile it. Ripa 'Moramee angrily insists he continue, and seems to look around, before moving to enter the Relic. Forge, satisfied with his discovery, returns to Alpha Base, and has it repaired. After that, he then builds a sufficiently large force and launches an attack on the Relic. With Forge closing in, the High Prophet of Regret ordered Ripa 'Moramee to destroy the Relic, despite Ripa 'Moramee's objections. Following orders, he sets the charges, but not before Forge's forces arrive and destroy the detonator and the Covenant forces protecting it, saving the Relic from destruction. Anders flies in and, under Forge's protection, observes the Forerunner installation, even managing to activate a galaxy map, pinpointing another human colony world. They do not get to investigate for long however, as a Covenant counterattack quickly cuts them off Alpha Base. Forge calls for reinforcements however, and a pair of Grizzly tanks lift the assault, helping Forge and Anders escape on a Pelican, while they stay behind to help in a delaying action. Returning to the Spirit of Fire, Anders informs Cutter that the colony world the galaxy map pointed to was Arcadia, and how she believes that it will be the next planet to come under Covenant attack. Initially reluctant, Cutter is eventually convinced by Anders, and he orders the ship to set a course for Arcadia. Arriving in the Procyon System, the Spirit ''quickly exits slipspace over Arcadia to find themselves late to the scene of a naval battle. Four UNSC ships: [[UNSC Belfast|UNSC ''Belfast]], [[UNSC Armstrong|UNSC Armstrong]], [[UNSC Texas|UNSC Texas]], [[UNSC Pillar of Autumn|UNSC Pillar of Autumn]], moved to engage two Covenant CCS-Class Battlecruisers of unknown designation. They managed to destroy one with its shields down, but the second managed to engage, managing to destroy the Texas ''and ''Belfast and cripple the Armstrong ''and ''Pillar of Autumn. The second then landed on the surface, deploying forces in a mass siege on the capital, Pirth City. Forge was quickly deployed to the surface to aid in the evacuation of the city. Afterwards, Forge's remaining troops and armor made a hasty withdrawal, escaping into the outskirts, where they then built a base and fortified their position. The Covenant were quick to lay siege to the firebase, even deploying a Mega Turret and building a base of their own. Luckily, the arrival of Spartan Team Omega, along with help from the already present Spartan Red Team, allowed Forge and his bolstered forces to strike back, destroying the Mega Turret and the Covenant Citadel, while giving the UNSC temporary control of the area. Meanwhile, at a Forerunner installation called the Apex, Ripa 'Moramee is speaking with the Prophet of Regret, who shows him the Forerunner fleet currently lying dormant, and the power the Covenant would wield if they possessed them. However, Forerunner technology only reacts to human touch, something Regret notes that Anders was able to do. Determined to activate the fleet, Regret orders Ripa 'Moramee to locate Anders and bring her back to the Apex. Forge and Red Team later extracted from the area to an ONI Base on the planet, near an excavated Forerunner site. The Covenant secured the region and deployed a Dome Shield over the site, which is not only opaque, but also impenetrable to UNSC forces. However, Anders has come up with a plan to use prototype artillery tanks, called Rhinos, to bring down the dome. The first attempt is met with failure, and only served to provoke Covenant forces into a counterattack, which destroys the first Rhino. Forge and Red Team, upgrading their base and building sufficient forces, pushes against the Covenant defenses, managing to deploy more Rhinos. Once deployed, the second assault proves more successful, temporarily opening a portion of the dome, allowing the Spirit of Fire ''to bombard the hidden Covenant Citadel behind the shield with MAC rounds, which totally demolishes it, and disables the rest of the shield. Forge takes Red Team and his forces inside, only to suddenly come into contact with a half-built Covenant Super Scarab. Hiding from its powerful focus cannon, Forge manages to lead his troops around the side in careful, precise maneuvers, and eventually uses brilliant tactics to outflank and destroy the Super Scarab protecting the Forerunner site. Later, when Anders is examining the Forerunner site, Forge tries to strike conversation with her, only to be shrugged off. A moment later, Ripa 'Moramee decloaks and grasps her by the throat. Forge pulls out his sidearm and engages Ripa 'Moramee in brief combat. Just as he prepares to kill Forge, Anders steps in and promises to go with the Elite if he lets Forge live. Without a word, he deactivates his Energy Sword and drags Anders into an awaiting gravity lift, lifting them up into a Spirit dropship, which soon flies off. Moments later, Red Team arrives in a Warthog, too late to assist. Returning to the ''Spirit of Fire, Forge insists that Captain Cutter pursue Ripa 'Moramee's destroyer, and Red Team's leader, Jerome-092, agrees, but says they should destroy the ship. Instead, Cutter pursues the ship, entering slipspace as the destroyer does. Arriving at an unknown world (later identified as a Forerunner Shield World), Serina tracks Anders' signal to the Shield World's surface. Cutter immediately deploys three Elephant task groups to the surface, with Sergeant Forge in command. However, after a brief exchange with Covenant forces, contact is lost with the other two task groups, for unknown reasons. Shortly after, Sergeant Forge's group is ambushed by an unknown parasitic entity, and after fighting them off, establishes a base. Building a sufficient enough force, he then locates the missing Elephants, all having been consumed by the parasite's biomass, and frees them, bringing them back to base. Shortly after building a base of operations on the Shield World, Red Team goes missing during a scouting run. Serina later finds that they have located the source of Anders' Signal; revealed to be a trap set up by the parasite, known as the Flood, and the signal originates from a massive Proto-Gravemind. Forge quickly assembles a large force and regroups with Red Team, destroying the Proto-Gravemind in the process, ending the transmission of the false signal. Meanwhile, back at the Apex, Ripa 'Moramee shows Regret his prize, to which Regret mockingly observes Anders. She demands that she be released immediately, to which Ripa 'Moramee only laughs. However, when he is informed that the Spirit of Fire ''recently entered orbit over the planet, he violently throws the Elite aside in irritation, angrily ordering his men to escort Regret back to High Charity while he deals with the human presence. Meanwhile, the Shield World opens, and the ''Spirit of Fire ''is caught in a gravity well, steadily being pulled inside, while Sentinels rush out to identify the vessel. Cutter immediately orders the return of all surface assets, and all bases on the Shield World's surface begin to evacuate, while holding off repeated Flood assaults. Eventually, the evacuation is a success, and all forces return to the ship just as it enters the Shield World in full. Inside, Sentinels initiate sterilization procedures, and begin to cleanse the ship's hull of Flood biomass. The ''Spirit of Fire ''sends out its own troops to deal with the unwanted infestation, while also fighting off hostile Sentinel units. Afterwards, upon entering the Shield World fully, they are confronted by a rapidly approaching CPV-Class Heavy Destroyer. They try to turn, but are too late, and both ships ram into each other's sides. Acting quickly, both forces deploy onto the ''Spirit of Fire's hull, and launch their own individual assaults. In the end, the UNSC is victorious, and the Destroyer rapidly retreats, exiting the Shield World, while the ''Spirit of Fire ''continues inside. Back at the Apex, Ripa 'Moramee arrives and removes Anders' restraints, followed by him forcing her to activate the Forerunner fleet. However, while he and his Honor Guards are in awe of the activating fleet, Anders is able to teleport herself to the Shield World's interior surface. However, she soon finds herself in the midst of several Flood infection forms. However, Forge soon arrives and rescues her, taking her to an evac zone. But with their Pelican now shot down, Forge is forced to hold position until another Pelican arrives. After holding against numerous Covenant forces, the Pelican arrives, but Anders orders Forge to stay behind and secure the area, as she has an idea on how to stop the Covenant from gaining control of the Forerunner warships. Following orders, Forge establishes numerous strongholds throughout the region, with Red Team even managing to acquire an abandoned Scarab. They then proceed to push back the Covenant forces in the area, as well as destroying another Scarab.